The St. Maarten Tzu Chi Foundation donated a total of US $5,600 in cash and gift baskets containing food and essential items to 31 families of the recent fire in Wesley Lane, Cole Bay during a relief programme at the fire site on Saturday.
The cash donation totaled US $4,150 and the gift baskets containing items such as toothpaste, toothbrush, bath soaps, milk, juices, rice, oil, cornflakes, peanut butter and towels totaled US $1,450. In addition to these items boxes of clothing and shoes gathered by volunteers and members were made available for fire victims to select what they wanted.
"I feel so happy but I am keeping it down because [I don’t want to cry ed.]. I have never experienced something like this before," Haitian Community President Jestan Guerrier said at the end of the relief programme. Guerrier worked with Tzu Chi to identify the families to receive the items.
This was Tzu Chi’s third donation to the fire victims. A total of 69 families have received donations from the Foundation since the fire three weeks ago.
A total of 40 Tzu Chi volunteers including the Foundation’s Commissioner Sandra Cheung gathered at the fire site for the programme mid-afternoon Saturday. The programme began with volunteers giving recipients a synopsis of how Tzu Chi was founded and the work of the foundation in St. Maarten and around the world. Fire victims were also enlightened about how the work of the foundation is fuelled through donations from its members and volunteers and through the Bamboo Bank (donation box) drives.
Volunteers stood in line and first presented envelopes with the financial donation to representatives of each family and then presented the beautifully decorated gift baskets containing the food and essential items.
Tzu Chi also showed their love and compassion by sharing positive thoughts with the fire victims. Cheung shared the "Three "NOs" of Tzu Chi foundation, which are: "There is no one in the world that I don’t love, there is no one in the world that I don’t trust and there is no one in the world that I can’t forgive." Cheung said persons who live by these principles usually have a better life. Volunteers then performed the "Three NOs" sign language song for fire victims, many of whom followed suit.
Mariana of Fina Salon in Marianne Estate, who witnessed the ceremony, was so touched by the Tzu Chi gesture that she offered free hair washes at her salon to any five female Tzu Chi volunteers.
In remarks at the end of the relief programme, Guerrier expressed thanks on behalf of all the fire victims to the foundation for their kind gesture. He was high in praises to the foundation for their relief work saying that Tzu Chi was the second organization after the St. Maarten Red Cross to donate to fire victims. He said the water that had been donated at that time had been life saving as no one can survive without water. He said Tzu Chi consisted of a strong group of volunteers who were willing to assist where necessary.
Salvation Army representative Haitian national Avrius Jean Baptiste also thanked Tzu Chi and its family of volunteers. Baptiste said Tzu Chi was engaged in "very worthy" work in the community. Baptiste said he too had received assistance from Tzu Chi several years ago when he lost everything in a fire several years ago.
Volunteer Gary Yee-Fong said it was a blessing for volunteers to be able to assist. He sympathized with the victims for losing everything in the blaze and assured that the foundation will continue its work in the community.
Cheung alluded to a saying from Tzu Chi Founder Master Cheng who said: "Beware of danger even during good times. Do not wait until you encounter danger to remember the good times you had."
Caption for picture:Tzu Chi Foundation volunteers and the fire victims who received donations during the Tzu Chi relief programme at the fire site in Wesley Lane Cole Bay on Saturday pose for a group photo.